Up in flames
by Snavej
Summary: A hand grabbed at Sabine, but she brushed it off, forcing herself forward. "Where is my daughter?" she screamed. A stronger arm caught her. "Madame, it's not safe, please." "But my daughter, my Marinette, I have to-" And then the bakery collapsed.


"Madame, I need you to tell me what happened."

"But my daughter! You have to find my daughter," Sabine begged with tears streaming down her sooty face.

"Madame, the firefighters are looking for her. I need you to tell me what happened," the man reasoned. "It might help us find your daughter."

A woman joined them and looked pleadingly at the officer trying to talk to Sabine.

"Sabine," she said, still looking for permission from the officer, who nodded. "Take a deep breath." Sabine did as she said. "Now start from the beginning, you were asleep?" she prompted.

"Yes, and I woke up and was coughing. I thought I was just a bit ill, but it smelt funny. I didn't realise at the time, but it was the smoke and I didn't realise…" She sobbed again before trying to regulate her breathing again. "I checked the hall and realised there must be a fire. The alarms hadn't gone off. I woke Tom and he said he'd get Marinette and that I should call the fire engines and so I ran outside and phone them and then tried to wake the neighbours and…"

The woman, one of Sabine's neighbours, continued for her.

"The fire engines turned up, a firefighter pulled Tom out but they hadn't found Marinette," she said.

"Thank you," the officer said. "Madame, please wait here. The medics are seeing to your husband and my men are doing their best to find your daughter."

Sabine wasn't really listening. She was watching the smouldering remains of the bakery, her home. She was watching the door, waiting for them to appear with her daughter.

And she waited.

And waited.

Then firefighters ran from the building. Sabine stood up, not realising she'd even sat in the first place. Her eyes searched the firefighters for any sign of her daughter.

But she wasn't there.

"Where's my daughter?" she whispered, starting forwards. "Where's Marinette?" she screamed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tom sitting up in the ambulance with a oxygen mask on.

A hand grabbed at Sabine, but she brushed it off, forcing herself forward.

"Where is my daughter?" she screamed again.

A stronger arm caught her.

"Madame, it's not safe, please."

"But my daughter, my Marinette, I have to-"

And then the bakery collapsed.

* * *

On the other side of Paris, Ladybug and Chat Noir noticed the smoke. They had just finished a patrol when Chat had pointed it out in the darkness. It had taken Ladybug almost a minute to realise what was in that direction; her home.

But it couldn't be her home. There were thousands of things in that direction. But as they raced across the skyline, the possibility slowly decreased.

"My Lady," Chat called after her as they ran. "We aren't firefighters."

Ladybug ignored him.

Only when they reached the building opposite the fire did she stop. The building where her alter ego lived was mostly a smouldering wreck.

"My Lady?" Chat prompted, but she couldn't say anything. She swung down into an alley, still out of sight of the crowd surrounding the firefighters work.

"That's my home," she whispered.

"Huh?"

"That's my home," she repeated. "Those are my parents." Ladybug heard Chat step closer to her and knew he wanted to comfort her. She shrugged. "They must think I'm dead."

"You should go to them."

Ladybug stared at the wreck for a moment.

"What if I don't?"

"Huh?"

"What if I don't go back?" She turned back to face Chat. "They'd never know I was Ladybug. They'd be safe from association with me. No one would harm them because they thought they could use them to get to me."

"My Lady, you can't!" Chat insisted.

"But I could," she insisted as tears began forming in her eyes. "They'd be safe. They wouldn't get hurt. I want them safe."

"Safe, but forever mourning the loss of their daughter," Chat whispered. "They need you. They won't care about danger."

"What do you know about anything?" Ladybug hissed at Chat.

"I know you have family and friends that love you," he hissed back. "Where would you live? Who would hug you when you're down? Who would you make scarves for?"

Ladybug looked up at Chat and her eyes filled with tears. He opened his arms to her and she fell into them as tears rolled down her face.

"I've just been so worried about someone hurting them…" she sobbed. "After Alya and Nino and they weren't even deliberately aimed at me but-"

She stopped when she realised how much she'd just given away.

"You should get to your parents," Chat said, not moving.

"But what will I tell them?"

"The truth of course," he said as he pulled away slightly. "That you were running around Paris with a handsome young man who's madly in love with you."

Ladybug hiccoughed as she laughed. She wiped her tears away.

"Really? Flirting now? My house has literally just burnt down."

"You're more than welcome at my house," Chat said, grinning. "My bed is more than big enough for the two of us."

"Seriously now Chat," Ladybug scolded. Her body was still shaking slightly.

"I was being serious," Chat said. "We turn back into our normal selves and walk over there and you pretend you snuck out to see me. I'll pretend to be your boyfriend. Then I invite you all to stay at mine, we have more than enough spare rooms."

"You're actually being serious," Ladybug said with a frown. She looked from Chat to the crowd and back again. "You better not be a creepy old man," she warned and then released her transformation.

Chat smiled as Marinette appeared.

"Hello Princess," he said and released his own transformation.

"A- A- Ad- Adrien…" Marinette stuttered. "You're Chat? Chat is you?!"

"Come on," he said, rolling his eyes. "I think we have more pressing matters." He nodded his head behind her. Marinette looked around, momentarily distracted. "We can talk about this later."

"We'd better."

Closing her eyes, she grabbed his hand and turned. She ran towards her parents. Her mind was reeling as she shouted for her mother.

Adrien followed and watched as Marinette crashed into her mother, watched as they embraced and as they bother cried. He explained Marinette's whereabouts to the officer and to Tom when he joined them. He offered spare rooms in his house. He phoned Nathalie and organised rooms.

But the entire time, he watched Marinette. He watched his Princess, his Lady and his friend.

* * *

 **Author's note: I have no idea what happened. I was writing angst and then it was fluff and then it was a reveal fic. I don't even know.**


End file.
